Walkway adds convenience to NCC campus

Path opened in early December, connects Brainard and Loomis streets in Naperville

January 03, 2013|By Gary Gibula, Special to the Tribune

New brick walkway on North Central College campus was designed to spare nearby river from runoff. (Gary Gibula, Chicago Tribune)

The new Sesquicentennial Walkway cuts through North Central College in Naperville, adding convenience and sustainability to the campus.

The 16-foot-wide brick path, which opened in early December, provides a north-south corridor through the center of the campus from Brainard to Loomis streets.

The former alleyway was upgraded with an environmentally-friendly design that incorporated permeable brick pavers, lantern-style LED lighting and buried utility lines.

DuPage County Stormwater Management contributed a $118,800 grant because the project included sustainability features such as rain gardens. The small plots along the side of the walkway are sown with native grasses and plants to capture stormwater runoff and filter suspended nutrients and solids that otherwise would drain into the West Branch of the DuPage River.

"I love what they've done with it," said North Central College's registrar, Jonathan Pickering, who uses the walkway between campus buildings. "I like the idea that it links the campus to the (downtown) Riverwalk."

The Sesquicentennial Walkway is one facet of the college's $4.5 million Legacy Project that also includes the Riverwalk Gateway, an entry point between the Naperville Riverwalk and the college. The gateway was dedicated in October.

Officials said the walkway will be dedicated sometime following the installation of final landscaping next spring.

A plaza of brick pavers was created at the south end of the walkway near the residence halls, and the permeable surface also was installed in a redesigned adjacent Van Buren parking lot, which was expanded by 16 spaces.

The path also includes new benches.

"This is very nice," said Laura Cordero, a North Central College employee who uses the walkway. "Before it was difficult to walk this way, especially in the winter."